Premiere: Mansions’ ‘Brain Fog’ Is An Excellent Experiment In Loops

Seattle’s Mansions are back with new music for the first time since 2013 in the form of a new six-song EP called Deserter. The EP’s six songs are the result of primary songwriter Chris Browder’s desire to take his music in a new direction after an unfortunate incident where a synthesizer fell on his computer and smashed his hard drive, destroying a project he had been working on for years. He claims that this was a blessing in disguise, as he was suddenly struck by inspiration that led him to writing Deserter, which is undoubtedly Mansions’ most eclectic release to date. In anticipation of its release, we’re happy to be exclusively premiering the second single “Brain Fog.”

The track sounds like a cross between Nine Inch Nails and The World Is, combining the signature electronic beats and synthesizers of the former with the more nasally, emotional vocal delivery of the latter. It builds slowly off a synth loop, before introducing a jittery guitar lead that brings the track to a nice melodic climax. “I’ve always admired songs that were built on simple loops that just went on for the whole song building up, but I had never been able to write one that way,” Browder said of the track. “When we were putting the finishing touches on Deserter, I randomly got hypnotized by this synth loop, and I knew I had to follow it wherever it went. That turned into ‘Brain Fog’, which is my favorite song on the EP, and one that I still don’t totally understand.” Check it out below.